Tentative deal averts WPEC-12 blackout on Dish

Two-week extension granted to iron out new agreement

August 16, 2012|By Arlene Satchell, Sun Sentinel

A late-hour tentative agreement between the parent company of West Palm Beach-based WPEC-Ch.12 and Dish Network means viewers will continue to receive the station's programming through the satellite TV provider — at least for now.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Executive Vice President and General Counsel Barry Faber said the company had reached an "agreement in principal" with Dish on a new retransmission deal.

Sinclair has agreed to a two-week extension of its existing agreement so that both parties could work to finalize the deal, Faber said.

The existing contract was to expire at midnight Wednesday.

"We thank our viewers for their patience and support during these negotiations," Faber said.

The parties have been at odds recently over retransmission fees, and if a new agreement isn't finalized by the extension, WPEC-12 and its sister stations — WWHB, WTCN and WTVX (the West Palm CW affiliate) — could go dark on Dish.

Sinclair has been primarily dissatisfied with the current rates Dish pays it to be able to retransmit local programming from 70 stations it owns or provides services to, although there have been other matters at issue.

Dish officials, however, contend Sinclair has been insisting on higher rates for its ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC channels than what the satellite TV provider pays to other broadcasters.

If the parties fail to finalize their agreement and WPEC-12 lights are turned off on Dish, viewers would still be able to access the station by over-the-air antenna or through other pay TV services, such as DirecTV or AT&T U-Verse.